SHELBY - When Jake Penwell walked into Turner Funeral Home half his life ago, he knew it was where he wanted to work his entire career.

"I loved everything about it," said the 28-year-old Shelby resident.

Bob and Catherine Turner, who purchased the funeral home on West Main Street in Shelby in 1984, knew immediately the youngster would one day take over their business. That prediction came true when Penwell bought the place in September — it's now named Penwell Turner Funeral Home.

The transition began in the fall of 2004, when Penwell was still a middle-school boy who took his job as an altar server at Most Pure Heart of Mary Church very seriously. He visited the family's business for a funeral one day, and was instantly impressed with the ceremony the Turners conducted.

"He was excited," Bob said. "He volunteered if I ever needed help."

It was only a few days later Bob needed someone to wash a couple cars. He called Penwell, who quickly agreed. He did so well, the Turners offered him a job.

"He couldn't drive," Catherine smiled, "so we would pick him up, or his family would bring him."

Penwell bought himself a suit, and helped with ceremonies as much as he was able.

"I would come every day after school, just to see what had happened," Penwell said.

The Turners taught him everything about their business, from landscaping and cleaning to embalming and preparing for ceremonies. They all three maintain their embalming and funeral directing licenses.

The most important lesson was showing Penwell that he would forever be a part of community member's lives.

"This is a very relationship-oriented business," Catherine said. "You have a responsibility to the family to let them know who will be here in the future."

The funeral home serves families in both Richland and Crawford counties. It was first opened in 1931, under the name Dye-Hall Funeral Home.

The first ceremony the Turners conducted was for the mother of the woman they prepared during their final funeral as owners. Penwell himself has already buried four generations of the same family in his 14 years with the company.

"That's kind of hard to believe," Bob said, "but this is such an intimate business."

Despite the change in ownership, the Turners will continue working at the funeral home.

"We are a family," Penwell said. "Not an actual family, but we're family."

They do plan to spend a little more time with their grandchildren, but the Turners say they won't leave Shelby. They will still be available for those sad calls at 4 a.m., and will still comfort families during their hardest times. They have a bond to the funeral home they suspect will keep them there the rest of their lives.

"We work as a team," Penwell said. "The team's still here, I'm just the new captain."